For leaders who want a fresh perspective on success and a practical approach to leading people through change.

Henry: “Steven, I am really concerned about the changes the company is initiating and how the employees in my division are going to react.” (He rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and continued.) “I came here 5 years ago and we’ve seen 5 new directors come and go during that time. Every one of those directors had a new idea or plan that we had to embrace, only to see all of our efforts thrown out when the company decided to get a new director.”

Me: “Tell me why you’re concerned about the new initiatives.”

Henry: “Well in the past, every decision that introduced a change in our process was made in secret and handed down at the last moment. No time for questions, buy-in or troubleshooting. The morale takes another hit, there is no trust and the complainers get a little louder.”

That conversation sounds too familiar, doesn’t it? I hear the same thing all over the country as I coach leaders in different industries - manufacturing, high-tech, offices, and non-profits. However, on occasion I hear a different story. There are organizations and leaders that have discovered that having an open dialogue and including people in the early stages of change is a successful strategy.

Sharing important information with the people of your organization will generate five significant outcomes.

It provides a foundation for them to understand the issues and decisions that have to be made.

It minimizes the potential for speculation and misunderstandings.

The “power brokers” in the organization that try to generate fear will have their leverage minimized.

It creates opportunity for meaningful discussions and opportunity for people to offer suggestions/ideas on how to make the transitions successful.

And most importantly, it sends a clear message that they are important enough to be trusted with the information.

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Focus of this blogSteven Iwersen is a Leadership Specialist and Keynote Speaker. This blog is devoted to the pursuit of leadership excellence, helping leaders achieve confidence, and the discovery of new perspectives during times of change.